IT Employment

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Inteviewing for Dummies

A little background:I am currently working as a secretary, but I have an Associates Degree in Computer Information Technology - Applications and I am going to school and working toward a Bachelors Degree in Computer Information Technology - Applications. I am currently trying to make the transition from one field in to the next, so I've been applying for help desk positions locally.The problem:I've finally gotten an interview and I'm not sure of some of the basics I should cover in my interview. I have the standard company info questions, but what will help me land the job (other than my winning personality and qualifications) and start my new career?

How do they use these services?How experienced are their users in MS Office?What kinds of calls does the help desk take? What areas will a person need to know most for the position? How many people on the help desk?How many people in the immediate portion of the help desk that you'll work with?How supportive are they of new people (How strong is the team environment)?

Do some research on the company and more

Go into the interview knowing as much about the company as possible. If it's a larger public corporation, this might be easier than if it's a smaller privately held one. But a little research can only help. Moreover, educate yourself on the services they provide and get a good feel for who their customers really are. Then you'll be better able to articulate how you can uniquely and specifically fill the need they have.

Whatever you do, don't come across as though you're simply "asking for a job". They're motivation is not to "give you" anything. They're there to find someone to fill a specific need that they have. You want to be able to tell them, and make them understand, what you can do for them instead of the other way around.

Bottom line: How can you help them improve their product, their process, or their profit? If you can show them that, you may have several offers from which to choose.

By the way

Your resume and cover letter (yes, a cover letter) should be grammatically perfect - absolutely and positively perfect. No spelling mistakes, no improper use or omission of commas, no run on sentences, etc. Absolutely perfect.

And don't totally rely on spell checkers. They won't catch every instance of those common mistakes, such as, there versus their versus they're, or to versus too, or it's versus its, and so on.

If necessary, it's well worth paying an English major (or professor) a few dollars to review it for such things.

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